The Oculus Touch VR controllers won't launch with the Rift

On course for the second half of 2016

It's going to be a big, big year for virtual reality, with next-gen headsets from the likes of Oculus, HTC and Sony all scheduled to go on sale to consumers during the next 12 months.

Nevertheless you can still expect some bumps along the VR road: Oculus has announced that the Touch controllers that were originally intended to accompany its Rift headset are now going to be delayed until the second half of the year.

The controllers were unveiled with much fanfare back in June and let you interact more naturally with virtual reality worlds. As for the Rift itself, Oculus promises pre-orders are coming very soon, with an on-sale date pegged for Q1 2016 - you're just going to have to make do with the bundled Xbox One controller to begin with.

Touchy feely

"On Touch hardware, we've made significant advances in ergonomics, and we're implementing many changes that make Touch even more comfortable, reliable, and natural," says Oculus in its blog post. "We're also implementing changes that improve hand pose recognition."

"We're also outputting larger numbers of pre-production runs, which means we can get a lot more Touch hardware in the hands of developers who need it," the post continues. "The feedback on Touch has been incredibly positive, and we know this new timeline will produce an even better product, one that will set the bar for VR input."

"Sometimes you have to make tough calls and do the right thing," tweeted out Oculus founder Palmer Luckey as the news broke. "The design and capabilities of Touch will flow through to future generations of hardware - setting the right bar is important."